Alex Loves

Thursday Wishlist: The Art Deco Edition

Alexloves — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:19:15 +0000

The Art Deco trend is perhaps not the most prominent one of the season, but there’s definitely some really great Art Deco-inspired collections out there right now. Holly Fulton of course rules the roost, but plenty of other brands like Gucci and Kat Maconie for Dune have some great pieces out right now. Here’s some of my favourite…

1: Ruby Browning Hermes Orange Snake Bracelet, £63, from Kabiri

2: Holly Fulton Placard Necklace, £224 (was £320), from Farfetch

3: Ruby Browning Drop Diamond Leather Earrings, £108, from Kabiri

4: Mini Sequins Jacket, £155, from French Connection

5: Holly Fulton Memphis blouse, £415, from Matches

6: Sunray Dress, £85, from Oasis

7: Holly Fulton Lips Trousers, £303 (was £758! 60% off!), from Matches

8: Gucci Pleated Silk Skirt, £855, from Net-a-porter

9: Marni Leather Belt, £210, from Net-a-porter

10: Kat Maconie for Dune Soho Beach Sandal Black, £135, from Dune

11: Kat Maconie for Dune Shore Club Heel Pink, £165, from Dune

12: Kat Maconie for Dune Soho Beach Sandal Gold, £135, from Dune

The Royal Mail celebrates Great British Fashion with limited edition stamps

Alexloves — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:01:36 +0000

Never thought I’d ever be writing a post about stamps, but the Royal Mail has just released a range of fashionable stamps celebrating Great British Fashion and I kind of like it. The 10 stamps feature designs by iconic British designers from past and present: outfits by Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Ossie Clark, Tommy Nutter, Jean Muir, Zandra Rhodes, Granny Takes a Trip, Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies all feature in photographs shot by renowned fashion photographer Sølve Sundsbø.

The full set costs £6 and are available from all Post Office branches today!
Snail mail will never be this fashionable again…

Boutique Love: L’Éclaireur, Paris

Alexloves — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:34:27 +0000

As much as I love shopping online, nothing quite beats going to a proper boutique, where the shopping is as much about the experience as it is about leaving with some new goodies. They’re often the ones taking risks on young designers, creating an atmosphere no department store can recreate, and make shopping an intimate and luxurious experience for the customers again. So many of these boutiques are the unsung heroes of the fashion industry, so I’ve decided to shed a spotlight on some of my favourite ones on this blog.

First up is L’Éclaireur in Paris – which I got to discover on my trip with Farfetch, who they’re partnered with. L’Éclaireur – which literally translated means the enlightener – is actually a group of 6 beautiful designer boutiques all over Paris. The one I visited was L’Eclaireur Sévigné in the heart of Le Marais, opened in 2009. The incredible interior of the boutique (cardboard panels and built in tv screens, sprayed with car paint), was designed by Belgian artist Arne Quinze, who also designed the central wooden installation.

Once you can drag yourself away from admiring the incredible interior and the 147 animated tv screens, there’s an awful lot to discover in the boutique: from the moveable walls which pop open to reveal extra rails to the sheer quality of the clothes and accessories in every nook and crook of the shop, wandering through L’Éclaireur is a real adventure. This particular shop has only womenswear, and really caters to the high end client – with tons of Givenchy, Balenciaga, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries van Noten, Haider Ackermann and much, much more, as well as a few younger and lesser known designers (sadly I can’t think of one right now.).

At the front of the shop is a little, almost independent boutique offering slightly more accessible pieces, like sunglasses, jewellery, handbags and scarves – whereas the main shop is mostly just to admire for someone with my budget, the little shop offers the kind of things I’ll usually end up buying – perfect combo!

If you’re in the neighbourhood, L’Eclaireur is definitely not to be missed. I can’t speak for the other 5 boutiques, but I can only imagine they’re just as amazing. And if you’re not headed towards Paris anytime soon, don’t forget you can shop the boutique from anywhere on Farfetch.

L’Eclaireur Sévigné
40 rue de Sévigné
Paris 03
Open Mon -Sat, from 11am – 7pm

You’ll find lots more pictures of the shop on the Alex Loves Facebook page!

A few snaps from the little shop at the front:

Hermès Leather Forever Exhibition

Alexloves — Sat, 12 May 2012 11:51:07 +0000

How typical, you wait forever for a good fashion exhibition to come along, and then two open at the same time. A week after the Christian Louboutin retrospective opened its doors at the Design Museum, Hermès is celebrating its 175th anniversary and its special relationship with London with a new exhibition called “Leather Forever” at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Exploring the brand’s love for leather, the exhibition takes you through the making of the iconic bags (with 2 people actually working on a bag live – sadly you do not get to take the bag with you at the end. I tried.), a tour through the history of Hermès, a look at its iconic bags (more Birkins and Kelly’s you’ll ever see in one place), its equestrian heritage, a room with some fantastic unique commissions (my favourite room by far! I want the winged saddle!), and much much more.

To celebrate the exhibition, Hermès has also created 4 unique handbags representing England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, which will go up for an online auction at Christies starting 14th of May and ending 31st of May, with all proceeds going to the Royal Academy of Arts.

It’s an absolute must-see for fans of the brand, as it’s a great way to discover the brand’s incredible 175 year history. On top of that, it’s absolutely free! But hurry, the exhibition ends May 27th!

Hermès Leather Forever
Royal Academy of Arts
6 Burlington Gardens
May 8-27, Open Monday to Sunday 10am-6pm (10pm on Fridays)

You can find more pictures of the exhibition on the Alex Loves Facebook Page (and maybe “Like” me while you’re at it? Merci!)

For the toddler who has everything...?

The unique bags up for auction at Christies

Christian Louboutin Exhibition at the Design Museum

Alexloves — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:22:06 +0000

2012 is a big year for Christian Louboutin: he’s celebrating 20 years in business and to celebrate this momentous occasion, a retrospective of his work (read: lots and lots of SHOES) was opened at the Design Museum in London last week. I was lucky enough to attend the opening and the press conference with Mr. Louboutin, who turned up fashionably late, as he was still putting the finishing touches on the exhibition.

During the press conference, we got a real insight into the man behind the global brand. He was charming, funny, down-to-earth and not at all what I expected. He spoke of his childhood, surrounded by lots of women, and his love for cabaret, which is how he started designing his now iconic shoes. When asked why women loved his shoes so much, he told us about his respect and fascination for women, and how he understood what women want (in a shoe, that is). “I have yet to meet a girl who wants shorter legs” – possibly my favourite quote from the press conference!

He arranged the exhibition in different sections, so that visitors would get an insight into how a shoe is created, a look into his atelier, some of his famous designs, a section on his “fetish” shoes and even a hologram show in which one of his shoes transforms into a dazzling Dita Von Teese. In short, lots and lots and lots of beautiful shoes and a true hommage to Christian Louboutin’s work. I don’t want to give too much away, because the exhibition is definitely worth a visit, but below are some snaps to give you an idea…

Christian Louboutin at the Design Museum
28 Shad Thames
London SE1 2YD
01 May – 09 July
For more images of the exhibition, make sure you check out the Alex Loves Facebook Page

Acne’s SS12 Capsule Collection

Alexloves — Thu, 03 May 2012 09:18:18 +0000

These images arrived in my inbox a while ago, but then I kind of forgot about them until I passed the Acne shop on Dover Street yesterday and spotted the new SS12 capsule collection in the window.

The capsule collection consists of 20 pieces – all white, all in Acne’s trademark minimalist style, ranging from sharply tailored shirts to denim to silk separates to jersey T-shirts. I want it all – especially the denim dress above – except for the minor detail that I really shouldn’t be allowed to wear white… I’m a spiller.

The SS12 capsule collection is in Acne stores and online now.

Wednesday Wishlist: The Farfetch.com Edition

Alexloves — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:20:38 +0000

As you could read in my previous post, I went to Paris last week with Farfetch. Not only did they spoil us rotten there, they also gave us a £250 voucher to spend on the site (I know, AMAZING!!!). As you may know, Farfetch has gathered together some of the best independent fashion boutiques from all over the world in one place, with as a result an absolutely ridicidulous amount of incredible things to buy. I was told they have 3 times as many items online as Net-a-porter, so you can imagine trying to spend this voucher has been an absolute nightmare. Yes – a nightmare, because there’s just so much to choose from, I simply can’t decide! Not only are there some incredible well known designers on there, the site has also introduced me to a whole new bunch of young talent, so that makes the choice even harder. In fact, just making this post has taken over 5 hours (I kid you not), just because I kept getting distracted by other things… Below is a little list of some of my favourite under-£250 pieces on Farfetch.com!

1: A.P.C. Leopard Print Sweatshirt, £86

2: Equipment Signature Chiffon Shirt, £153

3: Diane von Furstenberg “Kenley” Scarf, £197

4: Carven Garberdine Skirt, £168

5: Jil Sander Navy Stitch Down Pleated Skirt, £404 (I know, I cheated with this one…)

6: Yves Saint Laurent Sunglasses, £214

7: Carven Knee-Length Dress, £249

8: Opening Ceremony “Glastonbury 1″ Sandal, £249

9: See by Chloé denim dress, £172

10: Ottmar Horl Swearing gnomes, £43 each

11: Marc by Marc Jacobs Studded Mouse Pump, £214

I apparently missed a number somewhere, so last but not least:
Eddie Borgo “Pyramide” Bracelet, £215

24 hours in Paris with Farfetch.com to celebrate the launch of The Playlist

Alexloves — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:08:12 +0000

Last week I spent a perfect 24 hours in Paris with the lovely team from Farfetch to celebrate the launch of The Playlist, a new project in which they’ve collaborated with six of the world’s best independent music shops and two emerging bands to celebrate the spirit of independent music stores worldwide and the ever-evolving relationship between music and fashion.

To mark the launch, Farfetch asked both bands – S.C.U.M. and Singtank – to create a fashion film with them, as well as play an exclusive gig, one of those being the reason we travelled to Paris. Myself, Charlie May and Katie Chutzpah were invited to watch Singtank play a gig in the new RA Boutique – one of Farfetch’s partners. Singtank is an up-and-coming French brother/sister pop duo consisting of Alexandre and his sister Josephine de la Baume, a French actress and wife of Mark Ronson. We were lucky enough to have a chat with them before the gig, and they were absolutely adorable, down to earth and my god, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have dreams about Josephine’s beautiful red hair for months to come!

Although the trip was short, we managed to pack a lot into the day, with a visit to L’Éclaireur, another one of Farfetch’s partners and one of the best shops I’ve been to in a long time (full review to follow in another post), afternoon tea at the Ritz, drinks in a secret bar (so secret, I don’t know what it’s called), a midnight Steak Tartare and a few hours sleep at Hotel Le Général (review to follow later as well).

Click here to find out more about The Playlist and make sure you have a look at the lovely fashion film Singtank created with Farfetch below, called “Lonsdale Road” (because that’s where it was shot. Get it?)
A big, massive, huge thank you to Farfetch for taking us, and spoiling us absolutely rotten!

p.s. if you like Singtank, they’re playing at Koko in London this Friday (May 4th!)

Payton and Byrne breakfast on the EurostarMy new Tusting bag got to go with me on its first tripThese were waiting for me in the hotel room… nom nomCharlie May aka Girl a la Mode L’Éclaireur (review to follow)Afternoon tea at the Ritz (and my midnight steak tartare)Ready for the party!Singtank at the new RA Boutique. Never been to an event before where Absinthe was served…Charlie, Karen and me – I may look wasted, but I wasn’t drunk, promise! Not yet at least…

McQ’s AW12 Lookbook

Alexloves — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 21:14:04 +0000

I first got to see the collection during London Fashion Week, at McQ’s first ever catwalk show. Then I saw it again, up close at the press days where I got to see the catwalk collection as well as the commercial one – the one which will actually land in stores – and now I’ve seen the lookbook for McQ’s amazing AW12 collection, it’s official: I want every single piece of it.

I love how McQ is really developing into a proper label in its own right, with the first McQ shop opening on Dover Street soon and the collection now available to buy online too. What makes it better than its big sister Alexander McQueen is that I will actually be able to afford most of this! Can’t wait for this collection to land in stores, I’m absolutely obsessed with it! I’ll be the first in line…

I’ve gathered some of my favourite looks from the lookbook below, hope you like it as much as me!

Introducing Nelly.com

Alexloves — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:54:33 +0000

Chances are, like me just a couple of weeks ago, you’ve never really heard of Nelly.com before. Which pretty soon you’ll find quite strange, because the site is about to explode all over the UK fashion scene. The online shopping destination is the most popular online retailer in Scandinavia with over 10 million visitors per month! Alongside their own brands (which are absolutely fab and affordable), they also stock a number of other brands – the Scandinavian Asos, if you will.

They’ve just officially launched in the UK and I got to discover Nelly.com at a launch at the W Hotel a few weeks ago with Finnish Sandra Hagelstam of 5 Inch and Up – who’s currently designing a collection for Nelly – and I fell in love. The clothes are definitely great, but it’s the shoes that had my heart beating a little faster! So, I went back for a closer look… I got a *little* obsessed with the studded shoes from Nelly Trend. Studded flats, heels, wedges… so, so, so many great shoes!

I can’t wait for you guys to start discovering Nelly.com along with me, as I’m sure the site will appear on the blog a LOT more!